Why This Historian Says a Trump Coup Is ‘Pretty Much Inevitable’

Trump‘s impeachment is almost inevitable at this point. There is just too much evidence that he has violated the constitution that he can continue to be president. It’s just a matter of time before his own party completely turns on him. But the question on a lot of peoples’ minds is “will he go easily?” Timothy Snyder, a historian and author of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century, says “it’s pretty much inevitable” in an interview with Salon. So how will he do it, and what can we do to stop it?

Trump is a fascist

Protesters burn an image of Trump fashioned on a swastika as they march the streets of Manila. | Jes Aznar/Getty Images

Snyder firmly contends that Trump is a Fascist, but it’s hard for Americans to accept that because we’ve had a certain belief about governmental structure for so long. “… we just assume everybody is a friendly democratic parliamentarian pluralist until proven otherwise,” Snyder tells Salon. Trump would have to march out and explain in the simplest of English that he was a Fascist to his supporters, but even then he would have people who would claim that he’s being hyperbolic.

The reason Snyder says that Trump is Fascist is the way he operates in his worldview. He may be doing it without even knowing it, but he uses all the fascistic approaches. What fascists have done in the past is to tell people to worry about the truth and what is real, only worry about our “mystical unities and direct connections between the mystical leader and the people.” This is only echoed by his constant denial of the truth and his undermining of the press.

Next: Trump will use three approaches to undermine democracy.

John Oliver showed us how he will undermine democracy

In an episode ofLast Week Tonight with John Oliver, Oliver showcased three tools in which Trump will undermine democracy; Delegitimizing the media, “Whataboutism,” and trolling. He consistently calls any news about him that is negative “fake news.” If that doesn’t work, he will shift blame to someone or something else by saying, “What about this?” He also constantly and intentionally tries to anger liberals. All those tactics undercut political norms and create a whole new dynamic that people are starting to emulate in conservative politics.

Next: Trump will use those tools to consolidate power

Trump will consolidate his power

Trump believes he is being obstructed by the government and the media. | Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

America’s Reichstag

The fire, which burned down the Reichstag parliament building, was allegedly started by Communist Party member Marinus van der Lubbe and gave the German government a pretext to introduce a state of emergency across the country and suppress opponents of the Nazi regime. | Keystone/Getty Images

In pre-Nazi-controlled Germany, Hitler was just a political figure. He wielded power, but he was never in a position to be Fuhrer. After years of undermining the press, casting doubt on the political system in the country, and creating the “German Identity” of the time, he had to have an event that would rally the remainder of the country behind him. That’s when the Reichstag fire occurred. This gave him the legitimacy to be the ruler of the people because everything he said was true.

It’s not inconceivable that the Trump administration will try to capitalize on a similar event. After all, only he could have prevented this if the “fake news” media wasn’t so unfair, and the courts and Congress didn’t obstruct him from doing his job as president.

Next: Here’s why Trump will try to capitalize on an event like that

Trump is unprecedentedly unpopular

He is arguably the worst president in history. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Trump is, arguably, the most unpopular president in history. Even if you go by a conservative poll, his numbers are still sitting in the low 40’s. The Trump administration and even the GOP would benefit greatly from a Reichstag or 9/11 event because they could prey on people’s political fears. That’s exactly what the Nazi party and Third Reich did in Germany at the time. If you look at a comparison of approval ratings for past presidents, George W. Bush’s approval ratings jumped almost 35 points following 9/11, for example.

Next: How long will it take him to succeed?

Trump could succeed in as little as a year

Snyder notes in his interview with Salon that Trump could succeed in his goal in anywhere from one to three years. “Nobody can be sure how long this particular regime change with Trump will take, but there is a clock, and the clock really is ticking. It’s three years on the outside, but in more likelihood something like a year,” says Snyder.

Next: What can you do to help prevent an overthrow of our democracy?

Be proactive

Trump and his administration are relying on his constituents to blindly follow them and they already do. Snyder says that you should “orient yourself against the general drift of things” and don’t “obey in advance.” Snyder believes that if you can do that, then you can do all the other things that need to be done, like supporting government and social institutions.